Chemicals in sunscreen enter your body after just one day of use, study says

Chemicals in sunscreen absorbing into our bloodstreams

May 7, 2019 at 12:00 PM CDT - Updated May 8 at 9:10 AM

(CNN) - The FDA is calling for research on sunscreens. After finding out where common ingredients end up in your body.

For decades, sunscreen has been as a super-sealant to help protect your skin from harmful UV rays.

Researchers have found that several of sunscreen’s common UV blocking chemicals are seeping into your bloodstream at levels high enough to trigger a government safety investigation.

This research supports the FDA’s calls for more safety data on sunscreen’s chemicals.

The four chemicals studied, avobenzone, oxybenzone, ecamsule and octocrylene, are part of a dozen that the FDA recently said needed to be researched by manufacturers before they could be considered “generally regarded as safe and effective.

A dermatologist at the Yale School of Medicine says people should still be aggressive about sun protection.

"Studies need to be performed to evaluate this finding and determine whether there are true medical implications to absorption of certain ingredients," said Yale School of Medicine dermatologist Dr. David Leffell, a spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology. He added that in the meantime, people should "continue to be aggressive about sun protection."

And experts say its way more dangerous to catch a burn than use current sunscreens on the market.

“It’s not news that things that you put on your skin are absorbed into the body,” Faber said. “This study is the FDA’s way of showing sunscreen manufacturers they need to do the studies to see if chemical absorption poses health risks.”

This trip, the first of two President Donald Trump is expected to make to Japan in the next six weeks, is more of a social call meant to highlight the alliance between Japan and the United States and the friendship between their leaders.